Reale Arena

The stadium originally known as Anoeta opened on 13 August 1993, designed by architects Ambite-Arrese-Cendoya as a multi-purpose athletics venue seating around 32,000, replacing Real Sociedad's previous home, Atotxa. For over two decades, fans complained that the surrounding running track kept them too far from the pitch, dulling the atmosphere despite passionate Basque support.

A comprehensive renovation, led by local architect Izaskun Larzabal (who also designed much of Real Sociedad's Zubieta training complex), finally addressed that problem between 2017 and 2019: the athletics track was removed entirely, the pitch lowered by 240cm, and both side stands rebuilt as a single tier just 8 metres from the pitch at its closest point, first-ever rectangular ends replacing the old rounded corners.

A translucent inner roof, supported by self-sustaining steel trusses mounted atop the existing structure, lets 25% of daylight through to keep public areas naturally lit while sheltering fans from San Sebastián's frequent rain. The renovation was originally budgeted at €47 million, split between Real Sociedad (€33m), the Basque Government (€10m) and the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council (€4m), though more recent reporting puts the final completed cost closer to €78 million once overruns are included, a very different funding model from San Mamés's ground-up rebuild in nearby Bilbao.

Work began in May 2017 with the demolition of the south end's external staircases and curve, followed by a new grandstand that moved the front row 35 metres closer to the pitch, opened early in the 2018-19 season. From May 2018, the lower east and west sides were reconfigured to bring fans a further 15 metres nearer the action, with capacity temporarily dropping to around 25,000-26,800 mid-project before the full renovation was completed in October 2019.

The overhaul also introduced a hospitality tier that simply didn't exist before: 2,300 hospitality seats across 82 executive boxes, alongside a broader shift in who attends matches, the club has reported the share of women in the crowd rising from roughly 18% to 26% since the rebuild, alongside a noticeably younger season-ticket base.

The stadium's official singing section carries the name of Aitor Zabaleta, a young Real Sociedad supporter murdered by a rival hooligan outside Atlético Madrid's stadium in 1998, a tragedy that helped spur Spanish football's anti-violence reforms. Renaming a stand in his memory turned a painful chapter into a lasting, peaceful fixture of matchday culture rather than a flashpoint, and the section remains one of the loudest parts of the ground today.

The Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao, hosts of San Mamés, remains the standout fixture on the calendar, and the 2019-20 Copa del Rey win, Real Sociedad's first trophy in 34 years, arrived just months after the renovation transformed both the sightlines and the noise inside the ground.

Separately, some local neighbourhood associations have formally written to FIFA asking San Sebastián to withdraw as a host city over overtourism concerns. Neither issue has derailed the bid so far, but both are worth watching as 2030 approaches.

Alongside San Mamés in Bilbao, Reale Arena gives the Basque Country two 2030 venues within roughly an hour of each other, and the unusual proposal to potentially combine both bids into a single joint host arrangement reflects just how closely linked the two cities' World Cup ambitions have become.